Kenya Day One, Part 1, Wednesday, Mar 27, 2024

We wake early this morning, have breakfast and grab our overnight bags that we packed last night and we are off the ship by 7AM. We walked into the port and most of a mile later we find our set of vans to take us on Safaris for two days! Kenya awaits!

We get in our van and there is one seat empty. The van doesn’t leave and we are told there is one person left to join us. It is before 8AM and the temp is already over 30 degrees Celsius (86 F). We wait and wait in the hot van and finally, almost an hour later, a lady shows up saying she couldn’t find us. Well, we had a wee bit of trouble finding the vans also, so we are just relieved to be able to get going. Our cameras start to capture roadside sights in this third world country.

We are told it is approximately a two hour ride to where our Tour will start. So our cameras are content for the time being capturing images along the side of the road. We stop for souvenirs and restrooms halfway there. When reloading the van, there is a person missing. 20 minutes later, here she comes, the same lady that was late earlier. Hmmm, we hope this is not starting a trend! I can only wonder how much it costs to stay in some of these roadside hotels. Anyone want to stay in one?

We drive on and arrive at a ‘Masai’ village. Who has heard of the ‘Masai’? What a fun treat! They come out and dance for us. Soon they start ‘jumping’! If you’ve never witnessed Masai Warriors jump, you’re missing out! They dance and jump for 30 minutes or more! I’m tired just watching them!

After they dance and jump for us, we are invited into their village to see their houses and how they live. It is fascinating to see more of their culture. Their houses are constructed of elephant and other animal dung. No, that is not a typo. Animal dung! The ground here is bright red, reminding me of red Georgia Clay. And that color is carried through the walls of their homes! Small scraps of fabric are used to make decoration for the walls! Inside the houses, the sleeping areas are very rustic and covered with animal skins. Likewise, the roofs are made of animal skins also, stretched over frames of sticks. There are no real forests in Kenya so wood is not a common commodity. They also show us how they start a fire using just a stick that they spin in their hands. Brings me back to my Boy Scout days! They effortlessly start their fires in minutes! Their children seem no different than all children (which we are always fascinated with) around the world. Their cooking utensils are hammered out of steel, probably supplied by the large steel mill we passed on the road. The tribe is very welcoming of our cameras, which I thought would be more of an issue!

We leave the village and watch as all the Safari vans drive away. Oh yeah, we have a person missing. Can you guess who? You’re correct, the same lady who has been last at every step. So all the occupants of the van discussed it and when she finally arrived, she was informed that if she delays us again, we will leave her behind!

Here we will leave you and finish this day in Part 2 of this Blog Post as it has already gotten quite long!